Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Federal Court In Putrajaya today announced that the case on Kg.Buah Pala will proceed on the 21st Aug 2009 in Putrajaya Federal Court. The Villagers are happy that the case will be heard despite the turn down in the last case in the same court. We only want Justice to prevail and we are not demanding more than what we deserve! says the villagers!One of the older villager has said that although this is a small village with only 65 families, we are struggling for our rights and backed by the communities in Malaysia and througout the world because this Land that has been given by Late Mr.Brown under the Housing Trust for the Indian settlement for the services to the Brown Estate before Independence.Rwindraj@Cryingvoices..

Keen: P Waythamoorthy should learn from the Kg Buah Pala issue. Don't attack Pakatan Rakyat or you lose all your friends. Hindraf cannot become a third force through Paham based on Indian votes only, this is P Uthayakumar's biggest illusion. Asking Indians to uproot and relocate to form Indian majority seats is not realistic.

It's no longer politically acceptable for the government to put non-terrorists under ISA so what is stopping Waytha from coming back? If he lacks the courage despite the minimal risk, don't expect me to sympathise with his living conditions in London. By the way, Athi Shankar should be ashamed of himself for putting out a propaganda piece for Hindraf as a prime example of gutter journalism.

D_Czarr: I suggest readers read the full interview before making conclusions. I hope Pakatan leaders can now see who their true friends are. A true friend will never clap and say right when it's wrong. Hindraf is a true friend but if DAP supporters cant understand this its their loss.Raveendran Shanmugam: Athi, don't worry about what you wrote on Waytha. The fellows are racist and they refuse to understand the truth. They may soon say you are collaborating with Hindraf. These jokers should read the full interview that is published. Hindraf has remained at its original course - to be apolitical. One has to admire their courage to call a spade a spade even if it means hurting your friends.

Read the interview carefully - Waytha is clearly saying they are with Pakatan and have made intelligent and frank comments on how they could work together. Intelligent Pakatan leaders like Lim Kit Siang and Anwar Ibrahim would understand what he means.

Ong: Hindraf may have been a positive force initially, but unfortunately early success got to their heads and they became arrogant and they are now a negative force sowing unnecessary discord. They became so arrogant and self-righteous that they think they can overrule the courts and state governments.

Thinking became fuzzy and could not tell the difference between illegal and improper alienation of state land despite being lawyers. They misled the KBP (Kampung Buah Pala) villagers into rejecting the unprecedented offer of a terrace house each. Will they repent for causing the KBP villagers' loss? Not likely.

Antares: It's obvious that criminal fraud has been perpetrated on the residents of Kg Buah Pala by members of the KTK (Koh Tsu Koon) state government affiliated to Nusmetro Ventures. LGE (Lim Guan Eng)'s attempts to resolve the issue appear to have been hampered by factionalism amongst the Kg Buah Pala villagers - some of whom may have covert links to MIC (disguised as Hindraf).

In effect, this messy drama strikes me as another attempt by BN to destabilise Pakatan whilst deflecting attention from the original land fraud. From what I see, Kg Buah Pala is a charming and unique spot which deserves to be preserved as a heritage site. Modern high-rise developments are a dime-a-dozen and Penang doesn't need more of these ugly urban projects cluttering its scenic skyline.

Save your wrath for Umno/BN, folks, instead of threatening LGE and DAP who are only trying to offer us more open and responsive government. Any errors they make are peanuts compared to BN's massive crimes!

Louis: I understand that the developers are giving a house to those who had left last year with some monetary compensation. The developers should be commended for that. My suggestion is that they give the same amount of money to those who had just accepted the house offer.

For those who miss the dateline, no house should be given at all. Let them go and demand from Hindraf or MIC or anyone who think that they can bargain for more. Maybe MIC with a ready cash of RM3.2 million can build each of them a bungalow in Penang.Peter Yeong: To those who are too emotional and communal in their comments, please think and comment rationally. Those who felt that the present state government is not doing enough should ask themselves whether the people of Kg Buah Pala had a better deal from the previous government?

There are only that much the present government can do legally and financially with their limited resources. The bottom line is that BN treated the people of Kg Buah Pala just as squatters. LGE is trying to get a better deal for them. Period.

MACC’s feelings have been hurt. Lim Kit Siang called them a Gestapo organisation. They have been accused of indiscriminately arresting people, of handcuffing people for no reason when they do not present a danger to anyone, of even killing witnesses who are not even suspects in any crime. This has hurt the feelings of the MACC. They just can’t figure out why anyone would accuse them of all that.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan was charged at a Sessions Court here with not disclosing all information on his assets in his sworn statement last month.

Rosli, 46, a partner in Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, was alleged to have not complied with the terms of a notice dated July 17, 2007, issued by the Prosecutor under Section 32(1)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, to give full information relating to his assets.

Rosli then sought permission from Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah to address the court.

Rosli said the timing of ACA to charge him a day before Hari Raya was “calculated to humiliate him. I have suffered enough. If I go to the mosque tomorrow or if I dared to go, I will be a subject of scorn and ridicule,” he said.

He also told Komathy that he stood in dock very sad because of the manner he was “apprehended” by ACA officers.

Kumaraendran said ACA officers arrested his client at his office at 2.30pm on Thursday and that they handcuffed him tightly.

He said a senior ACA officer also threatened to punch Rosli. – The Star, 13 October 2007

Rohaizat, 38, was bombarded with questions from reporters after it became known that he was disbarred as a lawyer last year over allegations of fraud that implicated his law firm.

According to the Malaysian Bar website, he was disbarred on March 7 last year. This means that he cannot practise as a lawyer or appear before a court, but he is allowed practise syariah law.

According to Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan, Rohaizat was disbarred for violating Section 103D of the Legal Profession Act (1976), which covers misconduct by individual lawyers.

“The offence was for personal liability and does not involve any other persons, as Rohaizat was named by the complainant, and not his partner,” Kesavan explained.

“Rohaizat was disbarred on March 7 last year and he appealed against the Bar Council decision to the High Court, which also dismissed his appeal on Aug 12 this year,” he added.

Rohaizat’s case involved a complaint over the lack of accounting for monies from stakeholders of Koperasi Pekebun Getah. Kesavan said: “When the board looked into this matter and the order was made, there was no reimbursement to the stakeholders involving the sum of RM140,000.

“Even if you pay, the offence has been committed and it is a serious offence as this involves dealing with client’s money.

“If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the disciplinary committee and the charge levelled under Section 103D is tantamount to criminal misconduct,” explained Kesavan.

Kesavan elaborated that Rohaizat’s partner would only be hauled up if a complaint was lodged for negligence of the law firm but as far as Section 103D is concerned, the offence carried a personal liability.

It also does not preclude him from standing as an election candidate, but it is certainly not an advantage.

52, were the only two who registered as candidates for the by-election on Aug 25.

The by-election for this state seat on mainland Penang was called after the previous PAS assemblyman died, making it the country’s eighth by-election since the general election took place in March last year.

The opposition will certainly capitalise on the controversy to illustrate their claim that Barisan Nasional (BN) is a patronage machine which disregards moral principles routinely.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed the scandal would not call into question the credibility of BN’s candidate, saying: “There is no controversy with regards to his candidacy as we have done our homework.

“As far as the law is concerned, he has been declared eligible to contest and we believe the voters will understand when we explain to them what actually happened.

“We have our ways of explaining to the voters, the opposition can do whatever character assassinations they want.

“We will expose all their lies and the rakyat can judge for themselves,” added Muhyiddin.

Penang Umno chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had informed the press on Sunday Rohaizat’s disbarment was due to a scandal which involved Rohaizat’s partner.

He insisted that Rohaizat was innocent of the alleged fraud in his firm.

“This is an issue of public perception. We will explain to the voters what really happened,” Ahmad Zahid said.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin told The Straits Times that it was Rohaizat’s business partner who was involved in the fraud and who dragged the entire firm into the mess.

He said Rohaizat had settled the problem after his partner disappeared.

Rohaizat, who graduated from the International Islamic University in 1995, has stopped practising law.

The controversy will be fodder for the opposition, which has the upper hand going into this contest.

This state seat is part of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat held by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

But the opposition is also on the defensive after nearly losing the most recent by-election in Kelantan last month. The PAS candidate won the Manek Urai seat – also a stronghold – by a mere 65 votes.

“In the aftermath of the Manek Urai state by-election and the steps taken to reform and change the country, the winds of change are beginning to blow and I think it has reached Permatang Pasir,” Muhyiddin said yesterday.

Political analysts are not as confident, although many believe that the BN may be able to slash the majority.

The Manek Urai by-election showed that internal bickering among parties can severely damage their electoral showing.

The opposition is also fending off accusations that it has sacrificed Malay interests to win support from the minority communities.

“It will be a test as to whether the attacks against the Pakatan will stick. It is significant as this is the power base of Anwar,” said law professor Abdul Aziz Bari.

Permatang Pasir is not as Malay-dominant as the Manek Urai. Of its 20,290 voters, about 72 per cent are Malays, 26 per cent Chinese and almost 2 per cent Indians. But the Malay votes are large enough to be visible, especially as the Chinese voters are expected to remain in favour of the opposition. The number of Indian voters is negligible.

The campaign kicked off yesterday with a noisy nomination process filled with the chanting of slogans, the waving of banners – and the wearing of face masks due to the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.

There was a brief scuffle when police tussled with opposition MP N. Gobalakrishnan outside the nomination centre. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member had failed to heed two warnings by the police to stop using a loudspeaker to make provocative remarks. He was handcuffed and taken away. – The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 – Despite the sharpening racial debate in the country, the Najib Administration’s move to push 1 Malaysia to unify its 27 million citizens of various ethnicity has received a boost with the Cabinet’s agreement to drop “race” from most official forms and documents.

It is understood that Malaysians can opt out of stating race in official forms and documents that still have such a requirement. The category has been in all forms since the country achieved Merdeka in 1957.

“The Cabinet made the decision in early August,” a government official familiar with the move told The Malaysian Insider.

He said the civil service is now working to eliminate the category in all new forms and documents being printed.

However, it is understood that some forms will continue to have the category in relation to special privileges for Bumiputras.

In an immediate reaction, Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan welcomed the decision as a Merdeka gift for the country’s 52nd independence anniversary.

“That’s great news. We are all Malaysians from Perlis to Sabah so putting race is divisive,” Nur Jazlan told The Malaysian Insider.

“The concept is the basis of how our country started in 1957 with the Alliance in power and then Barisan Nasional. We need to narrow our differences and widen our common characteristics,” he added.

Many activists and non-governmental organisations have long called for an abolition of the category, calling it archaic and divisive in multi-racial Malaysia.

The latest to take up the call was International Trade and Industry deputy minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir who agreed that Malaysians should not be required to state their race in most official forms and documents.

He said in Penang on Aug 9 that it was unnecessary except for certain forms relating to the special privileges of Bumiputras,

“I would highly encourage that such columns for race be removed. This is in line with the 1Malaysia concept,” Mukhriz said.

A little after 11 this morning, at the KL High Court, Justice Zabidin Mohd Diah, after hearing counsels in attendance, ordered that the body of the late Gunasegaran, who died in the Sentul police station on 16th July, 2009, and whose remains until today have been held at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) mortuary, be transported to the Universiti Hospital and that a second post mortem be carried out.

Before you get all excited and start to think that some ground-breaking decision was made in court this morning, the order was made based on the DPP consenting to the same.

Counsels for the applicant

Lead counsel Viswanathan

Co-counsels Sreekant (L) and Ben Lim

had urged the court to make some definite rulings on the procedure on the matter of post mortems and the delivery of reports of such post mortems in future cases.

Regretably, because the DPP was not opposing the order for the second post mortem as well the order to deliver the report of the first post mortem, the judge declined to make any ruling on this matter.

The judge also ordered that an inquest be conducted into the cause of Gunasegaran’s death. and ordered that the report of the first post mortem be delivered to the applicant within 14 days from today.

Counsel Viswa imformed me that the body will be moved to the Univerisiti Hospital on Thursday, 20th August, 2009 at 8am, and the post mortem is expected to commence that same morning, at about 9am.

The first question that must be asked right from the beginning of the Permatang Pasir by-election is whether the voters can trust a candidate who could even mislead his own political party about his disbarment by the Bar Council from practicing as a lawyer?

Various explanations have been given by Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders about the Umno/BN candidate Rohaizat Othman being struck off the rolls by the Bar Council and the revocation of his practicing licence as a lawyer.

Umno vice president and Penang Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said Rohaizat’s licence was revoked in 2003 following problems incurred by the former partner in the legal firm.

Zahid said:“The Bar Council’s decision must be respected by the lawyers registered under it. Legally, Rohaizat is probably innocent, but morally, it can be questioned by his opponents.” (The Sun 17.8.09)

Zahid, who is also Penang Umno liaison committee chairman, confirmed that Rohaizat was stripped of the law practising certificate by the Bar Council.

He said Rohaizat’s name was struck off after his partner took off with a client’s money. He said the client lodged a report and as a partner, Rohaizat was implicated.

He explained that Rohaizat later used the money in his firm, which possibly belonged to other clients, to pay the victim.

“Rohaizat had no choice but to abide by the council’s decision and we have to respect that.

“Legally, Rohaizat did no wrong but morally, this will be used against him by the other party in the by-election,” he said, adding that that was why when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Rohaizat’s name last Friday as the BN candidate for the by-election he did not refer to him as a lawyer.

Yesterday at the nomination centre, Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin alleged that Rohaizat was the target of “character assassination” and “chided the Opposition for stirring up controversy” over Rohaizat’s credibility.

But the facts are completely different from what Rohaizat and the Umno leaders have owned up to as the true reasons why the Umno candidate was struck off the rolls by the Bar Council.

The Sun today reported:

When contacted, Bar Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan said all offences under the Legal Profession Act, under which Rohaizat was guilty, hold personal liability.

Stressing that the charge as tantamount to criminal misconduct, he said Rohaizat, not his partner, was named by the complainant over a sum of about RM140,000.

“If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the (Bar Council’s) disciplinary board. Rohaizat’s appeal against the Bar Council decision was dismissed by the High Court on Aug 12,” said Ragunath.

If the Bar Council chairman is right, and there is no reason to think otherwise, then Rohaizat has compounded his offence which had led to his disbarment by the Bar Council by misleading Umno leaders about the circumstances of his disbarment.

I believe that Umno leaders like Muhyiddin and Zahid had been misled by Rohaizat and did not know the actual circumstances resulting in Rohaizat’s disbarment, although they should have done a thorough check.

The Umno leadership, which is not short of lawyers, should have known that lawyers do not get struck off the rolls for minor misdemeanours when Section 94 (2) of the Legal Profession Act, 1976 clearly provides that lawyers are struck off the rolls for “misconduct”, which is defined as “conduct or omission to act in Malaysia or elsewhere by an advocate and solicitor in a professional capacity or otherwise which amounts to grave impropriety” and includes:

dishonest or fraudulent conduct in the discharge of his duties;

gross disregard of his client’s interests; and

being guilty of any conduct calculated to bring the legal profession into disrepute.

If Rohaizat can even mislead Umno and BN about the circumstances of his disbarment as a practising lawyer by the Bar Council, causing Muhyiddin and Zahid to publicly embarrass themselves and Umno in coming to his defence on completely ridiculous grounds, can he be trusted by the Permatang Pasir voters as to deserve their vote to become their State Assemblyman?

Muhyiddin and Zahid need to resolve the Rohaizat problem swiftly and boldly, so that the integrity problem of Rohaizat is not expanded to become the integrity problems of Muhyiddin, Zahid, Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships.

The most honourable solution under the circumstances is for the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leadership to withdraw Rohaizat as candidate, which can still be done by Thursday, and concede the PAS/Pakatan Rakyat candidate, Mohd Salleh Man Mat Aji a walkover.

Otherwise, the central issue of the Permatang Pasir by-election is not only going to be about the integrity of Rohaizat but that of Zahid, Muhyiddin, Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships as well.

University of Malaya lecturer and pathologist Dr Prashant has testified that Beng Hock was alive when he hit the ground feet first, followed quickly by the buttocks, according to Malaysian Insider tweets from the inquest.

The white chalky substance on Beng Hock’s right shoe was from the ground.

Prashant estimated that Beng Hock died between eight and 12 hours before his visit to the site at 7.15pm that day.

The confrontation between BN and Pakatan Rakyat has never been suspended after the 8 March general elections. It is dazzling to see incidents like the Perak regime change, the talk between UMNO and PAS and Selangor Exco being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. And another new front has been formed recently.

The new front refers to BN’s attempt of trying to fully pressure Pakatan by using public opinion. By using such a strategy, it hopes to win the Permatang Pasir state by-election, its first victory in Peninsular Malaysia.

BN’s wishful thinking is to pressure Pakatan , keeping it busy so that Pakatan would not have time to play with the Perak regime change issue and other political propaganda. It would be best to make them split and collapse. The MACC investigation was the first step. But the unexpected death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock has become a political chips for Pakatan to strike back. Therefore, BN changed the strategy focus to tag Pakatan. DAP has been accused of “anti-Islam and royal families” while Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been painted as “a traitor to Malays”.

During an interview with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with headline “Barat Masih Mahu Menjajah (Westerns Still Want to Colonize)”, Utusan Malaysia wrote that the Opposition, especially Anwar is having a good relationship with Western countries, and some has unconsciously become traitors. Western countries tried to use street demonstrations to change the government. With such a trend, some may play up the issue of Western intervention in Malaysian politics with the intention to gain more Malay votes.

The arrival of Permatang Pasir by-election has further intensified such political attacks. And MACC will resume investigations after the by-election. I’m afraid that it is going to set off another political issue.

The new political front formed by BN seems going well. However, there is another unexpected new political front being formed at the same time, which is the “political donation dispute” between Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd CEO Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

I believe that BN will not allow the dispute to keep expanding to avoid giving an opportunity for Pakatan to strike back. Therefore, the dispute between Ong and Tiong may have to be resolve by the end of this year. Also, BN does not wish to face the next general elections with a split MCA.

The people have been very familiar with these political tricks as they have experienced the 8 March political tsunami and a lot of political turmoil. However, they did not expect that such a broad scope and such many institutions are involved. But the people should be wise to analyse and judge between right and wrong. The people’s political maturity level will also contribute to the rise or fall of the country’s politics.

However, more and more political front are formed and politicians are going to focus on politics, neglecting more important national issues, particularly to revive economy and prevent influenza A(H1N1). Human lives are more important than political power. Too much of politics will only bring us man-made disasters.

The people must tell politicians through different channels that: “We are tired of political fighting. Please focus on the work and truly implement the political concept of ‘People first’.” (By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)

Policemen and soldiers work at the site of an explosion in a police station in Nazran, southern Russia, August 17, 2009. REUTERS/StringerBy Said Tsarnayev

NAZRAN (Russia), Aug 18 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 20 people and wounded 138 in Russia's Ingushetia region on Monday, turning a simmering Islamist insurgency there into the biggest test of Kremlin control of its southern flank.

"Every day something happens on (Ingushetia's)...territory," President Dmitry Medvedev told senior officials in the southern city of Astrakhan. "And they are all links in the same chain, all consequences of terrorist activity."

Medvedev sacked Ingushetia's interior minister after the bombing, the latest in a string of assaults, linked by analysts to Islamist insurgents, against police and politicians in Russia's poorest region, bordering Chechnya.

The bomb, packed into a yellow truck, exploded at the gates of the main police station in Nazran, Ingushetia's largest city, as officers lined up at the start of their day.

Thick smoke billowed from the remains of the police station and firemen fought flames near the mangled gate of the compound. Dozens of people sifted through rubble and wrecked cars were scattered around a 4-metre (13 ft) wide crater.

"This act of terror could have been averted," Medvedev said.

Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who is recovering after a suicide bomb attack in June, said Monday's blast was aimed at destabilising the region, which has overtaken Chechnya as Russia's main area of violence in its south.

"This is a big blow to the Kremlin," said Tatyana Lokshina, an activist with Human Rights Watch (HRW) who travels regularly to the region. "The number of attacks has been growing for a while, but I can't remember one as brazen as this."

Rebellion in the northern Caucasus, where the Kremlin has fought two wars to subdue Chechen separatists, poses an implicit threat to the wider fabric of Russia. The Federation spans 11 time zones from the Baltic to the Pacific and embraces dozens of ethnic groups with their own cultural sensitivities.

The European Union, in a statement by the current Swedish presidency, said it condemned the "brutal act".

The attack was the bloodiest in Ingushetia since 2004 when 92 people were killed when Chechen rebels took over the centre of Nazran, said Kaloi Akhilgov, a spokesman for Yevkurov.

It was the biggest death toll from an attack in the North Caucasus since a similar attack on the city of Nalchik in 2005 in the nearby Kabardino-Balkaria region.

No one claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

Web site www.kavkazcenter.com, which has links to the Chechen separatist movement, praised the attack by calling the suicide bomber a "shakhid", a word Islamist fighters use to describe martyrs.

KREMLIN CHALLENGE

Relatives crowded around a hand-written list of the dead at a local hospital and authorities declared three days of mourning.

Moscow sent an aeroplane with doctors aboard and evacuated the severely injured to the Russian southern city of Vladikavkaz for immediate treatment, the emergencies ministry said.

Estimates of the size of the bomb varied, but a source in the local prosecutor's office said it was equivalent to one tonne of TNT.

"The bomb could be heard throughout the city," said resident Timur Akiyev. Residents were evacuated from a neighbouring apartment block, whose windows were shattered by the blast.

A 38-year-old Nazran resident who identified himself only as Ilyas said he was even considering moving his business to neighbouring Chechnya as he felt the situation there was safer.

Ingushetia has been plagued by violence in recent months. Locals say the insurgency has been fuelled by a mix of desperate poverty, Islamic radicalism and heavy handed actions by the local security services.

Growing lawlessness and Islamist violence in neighbouring Dagestan and Chechnya is also undermining Moscow's control of the region. The rebel groups, though, are also divided and beset by factional infighting.

Russian news agencies reported two policemen were killed and at least one injured in Dagestan on Saturday, days after the bodies of the leader of a children's charity and her husband were found in a car boot in Chechnya. Late on Monday, a blast in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala killed a policeman.

A discussion is going on at this time 2139hrs, in the middle of the village meeting spot. Details to be addded soon...

Mr.Darshan has spoken about all the legal terms and stressed that the Villagers has all the rights to resist or to disallow the Demolition team to come in the house since they have no right to claim, demolish or chase you out of your home!Explanation on the ways to prevent injustice to the people of the Kg.Buah Pala..

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan told The Edge Malaysia that the proceedings under Section 103D of the Legal Profession Act 1976 involved misconduct of the individual lawyer.

"The offence was for personal liability and does not involve any other persons as Rohaizat was named by the complainant, and not his partner.

"Rohaizat was disbarred on March 7 last year and he appealed against the Bar Council decision to the High Court, which also dismissed his appeal on Aug 12 this year," he added.

Ragunath said the offence committed by Rohaizat involved stakeholders' money from Koperasi Pekebun Getah and there was no account for it.

"When the board looked into this matter and the order was made, there was no reimbursement to the stakeholders involving the sum of RM140,000.

"Even if you pay, the offence has been committed and it is a serious offence as this involves dealing with client's money.

"If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the disciplinary committee and the charge leveled under Section 103D is tantamount to criminal misconduct," he added.

Ragunath said the other partners only would be penalised if it involved negligence of the law firm concerned, but the offence committed under Section 103D was for personal misconduct.

On Sunday, Penang Umno chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told a press conference that it was Rohaizat's partner who was involved in the scandal which resulted in Rohaizat being struck off.

Meanwhile at the nomination centre, when asked whether Rohaizat's credibility would come into question following the revelation of him being disbarred, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said: "There is no controversy with regards to his candidacy as we have done our homework.

"As far as the law is concerned, he has been declared eligible to contest and we believe the voters will understand when we explain to them what actually happened.

"We have our ways of explaining to the voters, the opposition can do whatever character assassinations they want.

"We will expose all their lies and the rakyat can judge for themselves," he added.

The Prophet Muhammad has taught me that if I dare not or do not have the power or strength to oppose evil with my hands or with my mouth, but only dare oppose it with my heart, then this is a sign of a very weak Muslim.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin and I incite hate. I am one of those the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, has accused of using the Internet to spread hate. I admit to that crime and I do not deny it.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin and I am a Muslim. I was born a Muslim. I did not convert to Islam. And as a Muslim I have undergone the basic Islamic education required of all Muslims.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin and I have been taught to hate. I have also been taught to incite hate. My tendency to hate and to incite hate is due to my Islamic upbringing and my Islamic education.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin and I have been taught that all Muslims must hate. And I have been taught that all Muslims must incite hate. That is an obligation under Islam and my Islamic duty as what I have been taught by Islam.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. I believe in Islam. And I believe in the teachings of Islam. I believe that Islam would not lie. I believe what Islam has taught me is true and should not be disputed or denied.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. I believe myself to be a true Muslim. And I believe as a true Muslim I must uphold the teachings of Islam. And as a true Muslim I must harbour hate in my heart and incite hate as what Islam obligates all Muslims to do.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. I hate. I incite hate. I hate and incite hate against everything that Islam commands Muslims to hate. I hate what Islam hates.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. I am a Muslim. I uphold Islam teachings. I fulfil my obligation under Islam. I fulfil the most important obligation of all, and that is to hate all evil and to incite hate against evil.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. The Prophet Muhammad has taught me that I must oppose evil with my hands. That means I must physically oppose evil with force if necessary. I must take up arms to oppose evil. I must be prepared to die in the opposition of evil. That is what the Prophet Muhammad taught me.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. The Prophet Muhammad has taught me that if I dare not or do not have the power or strength to oppose evil with my hands then I must oppose evil with my mouth. I must speak out against evil. I must shout from the highest mountain in opposition to evil. I must write relentlessly in opposition to evil. I must not allow evil to perpetuate without a sound coming from my mouth. I must incite people from all corners of this earth to hate evil.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. The Prophet Muhammad has taught me that if I dare not or do not have the power or strength to oppose evil with my mouth then I must oppose it with my heart. I must hate evil in my heart. I must despise evil in my heart. I must carry this hate in my heart every time I see evil being perpetuated.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin. The Prophet Muhammad has taught me that if I dare not or do not have the power or strength to oppose evil with my hands or with my mouth, but only dare oppose it with my heart, then this is a sign of a very weak Muslim. Just hating evil in my heart without daring to oppose it with my hands or with my mouth means I am a Muslim who has hardly any iman or faith. This will make me only a ‘fringe’ Muslim and not a ‘true’ Muslim.

I am Raja Petra Kamarudin and I incite hate. I am one of those the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, has accused of using the Internet to spread hate. I admit to that crime and do not deny it. I hate and I incite hate because this is what Islam has taught me. I hate and I incite hate because this is what the Prophet Muhammad has taught me. I hate and I incite hate because I believe myself to be a true Muslim.

********************************************

Hisham: We’ll act against those who incite hatred on the NetThe Star, 17 August 2009

Hey, we can list example upon example of how Umno defends Islam, compared to PAS. And don’t think that Umno is just like the Taliban, mind you. In fact, Umno is very liberal, more liberal than PAS. Yet they are better than PAS at defending Islam.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“What has the opposition done for the Malays and Islam?” screamed the Umno vice-president, Mohd Shafie Apdal. Yes, in light of the recent developments, I too would like the answer to this question. And the recent developments I am talking about concerns Nik Aziz’s statement defending DAP who Umno says had insulted Islam.

Can you just imagine this? Did you ever think you would live to see this day? Not very long ago Umno was calling PAS an extremist party. They equated PAS to Malaysia’s version of the Taliban. And today, Umno chides PAS for being too soft on the enemies of Islam -- in this case DAP.

Umno had to ask the police to haul in the DAP Penang man for interrogation. It was Umno, not PAS, who launched an Inquisition against those enemies of Islam who insulted Islam. Last year it was Teresa Kok. This year it is Jeff Ooi. No one escapes Umno. Those who insult Islam will fall at the hands of Umno.

And this is more than what I can say for PAS. PAS still sits down with DAP and calls them buddies. Is it because PAS wants DAP’s support in the ongoing by-election in Penang? Is this why PAS ‘sacrifices’ Islam and allows DAP to insult Islam?

Yes, I agree with what Umno says. What has the opposition done for the Malays and Islam?

Okay, maybe Jeff Ooi called JIM an extremist Islamic organisation. Even the Malaysian government did the same. Back in 2001, the Malaysian government detained the one-time President of JIM, Saari Sungib, and sent him to Kamunting for two years under the Internal Security Act. The government alleged that Saari Sungib is an extremist who was involved in a plot to start a bloody revolution a la the Iranian Islamic Revolution. In fact, in total, ten of us were detained at that time and we were all accused of a conspiracy to bring in guns, bombs, Molotov Cocktails and grenade launchers.

Actually, the only cocktails I ever laid my hands on are Margaritas.

Maybe the government was angry that JIM, ABIM, and many other ‘extremist’ Islamic organisations, were the founders of Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) that later changed to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) when it merged with Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM). Today, PKR is a source of headache for the government, especially when it wishes to abolish Ketuanan Melayu and replace it with Ketuanan Rakyat.

A JIM man is also heading the Anti-ISA Movement (AIM) -- or Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) in Malay. In fact, many JIM and ABIM people are involved in the Anti-ISA Movement, which was started by the one-time head of ABIM when it was first launched in 2001 -- the late Ustaz Fadzil Noor. Can you see JIM and ABIM all over the place fighting for justice, equality, good governance, transparency, and opposing police brutality, abuse of power, corruption, and whatnot? This certainly makes them extremists just like the Taliban.

And Jeff Ooi did call them extremists, as they should rightly so be called. And what did PAS do? PAS just brushed it all off as a non-issue. PAS did not threaten to leave the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat. PAS did not tell DAP to stay the fuck out of Pengkalan Pasir when DAP announced they are going to help PAS in the by-election due in the next few days. It was Umno who sent the police to hassle Jeff Ooi and to ‘take his statement’. Expect Jeff Ooi to soon be charged for the crime of insulting Islam, if he does not get detained under the ISA first.

Never mind whether Jeff Ooi really did insult Islam. All it needs is one allegation from an Umno-controlled newspaper and that is enough for Umno to spring into action in the defence of Islam. Whack first. True or not, we talk later. That is how dedicated to Islam Umno is compared to PAS.

The same goes for the Teresa Kok case. There was a rumour that there is some very remote possibility Teresa may have requested a certain mosque to reduce the volume of its PA system at 5.30am. Why people should still be sleeping at 5.30am is beyond me. By 5.30am they should all already be awake. So I can understand why this made Umno very upset.

Okay, the allegation was proven not true in the end. The mosque committee members themselves said this was not true. Teresa did no such thing. She never asked the mosque to lower the volume of the PA system. (Actually, come to think of it, even if she did, so what? How does that tantamount to insulting Islam?) Nevertheless, Umno got the police to detain Teresa; detention without trial under the ISA; and later, only after they had detained her, did they conduct an investigation as to whether the allegation is true or not.

If the mosque committee had kept quiet then Teresa would have been sent to Kamunting for at least two years, maybe longer, for the crime of insulting Islam. Unfortunately, the mosque committee went and opened their stupid mouth and said no such thing ever happened so the government had no choice but to release Teresa.

Hey, we can list example upon example of how Umno defends Islam, compared to PAS. And don’t think that Umno is just like the Taliban, mind you. In fact, Umno is very liberal, more liberal than PAS. Yet they are better than PAS at defending Islam.

It is the Umno government that issued licences for lotteries and casinos in Malaysia. Even China, which not only has the largest population but the largest Chinese population in the world, refuses to issue casino licences. Even Singapore, until very recently, refused to issue casino licences. But a long time ago the Umno government issued a casino licence.

Sports TOTO is another gambling outfit that is owned by Umno. Of course, they can’t put it under Umno’s name lest it attract controversy. So they used a Chinaman as Umno’s nominee to hold the shares of Sports TOTO. So Umno is not like the Taliban at all even though they are more enthusiastic about defending Islam compared to PAS.

When the Faber Merlin group got into trouble, Umno brought over the company, which owns many hotels. Later it bought over a few other hotels that were in trouble. Today, Umno owns many hotels that have pubs, bars, discos, massage parlours (which are actually ‘fuck shops’), and whatnot. PAS would never do this. PAS would rather call for the banning of beer. Umno will not only not ban beer, but will in fact invest in businesses that have pubs, bars, discos, massage parlours, etc.

So perish the thought if you are thinking that Umno is extremist or like the Taliban. They are not. They are very liberal. Yet, they defend the Malays and Islam while what has PAS done for the Malays and Islam? This is a very relevant and pertinent question that the Umno vice-president, Mohd Shafie Apdal, has asked: “What has the opposition done for the Malays and Islam?”

PS. Actually, just between you and me, if Islam is really the religion of God as Muslims say it is, then God does not need man’s help in defending His religion. After all, God created man. So certainly this makes God more powerful than man. Therefore, does God need man’s help in defending His religion? God is capable of doing that Himself. If God is upset, all He needs to do is, poof, and He can exterminate an entire community. So you insult His religion at your own peril -- if you really are insulting His religion in the first place. God does not need the help of His creations to do His work for Him. And if God is really that Superior Being that we all say He is, then He is not capable of getting upset. Getting upset is a human emotion that only man possesses. God is free of human-like emotions like getting upset.

SHAH ALAM, Aug 17 — DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock may have been injured before he fell to his death on July 16, the government pathologist who carried out the autopsy today told the coroner’s court.

Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim from the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang admitted that he could not determine that the multiple injuries found on Teoh were the direct result of the injuries taken when he hit the ground.

Teoh had sustained massive injuries, some which are being disputed. They include a fractured skull, 22 broken ribs, certain marks which look like fingernail scratches and a punctured anus.

He added that he assumed the injuries were all a direct result of the fall because he did not see any “defensive injuries” on the deceased, pointing out the lack of cuts on Teoh's palms in his autopsy report.

He had earlier explained that under ordinary conditions, a falling person would instinctively stretch out his hands to try to slow down his fall.

Teoh was said to have fallen nine storeys from a 14th-floor window in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Selangor head office at Plaza Masalam here on July 16 after being interrogated for 10 hours as a witness in an alleged misuse of state allocations.

Under intense interrogation from lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, the senior medical forensic expert said Teoh’s body was showing signs of decomposition by the time he performed the autopsy at noon the next day.

There was also no trace of solid food found in Teoh’s stomach, which suggests that Teoh may have been starving and in a weakened state when he died.

The pathologist explained that a person typically takes four hours to digest food.

Dr Khairul added that Teoh may still have been alive after his body hit the 5th floor landing as his hands were found clenched, indicating he had tried to move and hold on to something.

He also put Teoh’s time of death as early as 5am on July 16.

“The estimated time of around 5am is material as CCTV recordings show that some of Teoh's investigation team left after that time,” Malik, who is acting for the Selangor government, clarified with The Malaysian Insider, referring to the security cameras monitoring the lobby floor of Plaza Masalam’s office tower block.

Malik highlighted too that the autopsy report, prepared jointly by Dr Khairul and another pathologist from Universiti Malaya, recorded multiple injuries to Teoh's head, face, chest, arms, legs and buttocks.

But the lawyer pointed out that Dr Khairul's explanations on how the injuries came to be, especially the ones on the head, face, hands and buttocks, did not match his own theory on how Teoh landed when he fell.

“Our theory is that he landed on his feet first and then fell forward, flattening his chest before ultimately falling sideways into the final position he was found,” Malik offered.

“There was a straight-line fracture veering to the right at the base on his crown,” Malik said, adding that Teoh's lower jaw was broken, showing he had hit his chin when he fell forward and which Dr Khairul agreed happened, though the latter added that it could have occurred when Teoh's knee or thigh bounced up and hit his chin.

The medical expert had earlier suggested to the court, under lawyer Gobind Singh Deo's questioning, that the blow to Teoh's head could have been caused by a hit on the sharp edge of the drain nearby after Teoh fell forward on his front.

Malik is disputing the medical forensic expert's version of the possible causes of Teoh's injuries.

During the inquest, he quizzed Dr Khairul, referring to autopsy photographs, about the cause of some marks resembling fingernail scratches on Teoh's right hand just around where a wristwatch face would have been.

Malik: Could it have been caused by someone pulling on his watch?

Dr Khairul: It's difficult to say.

Dr Khairul seemed reluctant to give an opinion on the alleged fingernail marks, claiming that it could have been a result of the wrist flexing up and backwards hitting the spot indicated in the autopsy photos. In his report, he had not recorded any injury on the top of the hand.

The normally soft-spoken Malik blew up.

Malik: This was no intentional jumping. He fell out of the window with several people near him. He fell, as the result of an accident, and someone grabbed his hand. His watch came off because we have not found the watch!

Dr Khairul: Possibility is, yes.

Questions were also raised on the severe injuries to Teoh's buttocks, especially the anus which was found punctured.

Both Malik and Gobind, representing Teoh's family, took it in turns to put forward the idea that the deceased could have been beaten at the rear end, causing an injury there which worsened when Teoh later fell to his death.

Dr Khairul replied that it was possible, and reluctantly suggested it could have been caused by a flat, wooden object when Gobind pressed him on the issue.

But, he insisted that the puncture wound was caused by the sacrum, a bone located just above the anus, which broke off upon Teoh's impact on the ground and penetrated the rectum.

At the start of today’s inquest, Dr Khairul admitted he had found no facts to support his theory that Teoh, who was due to register his marriage to sweetheart Soh Cher Wei after a two-year courtship, had committed suicide.

Dr Khairul had interviewed Teoh’s elder brother and younger sister as well as his 29-year-old teacher fiancee on the same day.

It was so he could find out the deceased’s psychological background and whether there had been any suicidal tendencies or substance abuse.

Khairul said the facts showed that Teoh was not susceptible to suicide.

Teoh’s elder brother told him that the deceased was an “open and talkative person”, the pathologist added.

But Dr Khairul admitted, under intense grilling from Gobind, that he did not interview any of the anti-graft officers to check the possibility of a motive for murder, despite knowing that the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah had been subjected to an interrogation before he died.

“That is the duty of the police. Not me,” Dr Khairul replied.

The inquest, which spilled over into lunch time today, will continue tomorrow morning with the testimony from Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar, a pathology lecturer with Universiti Malaya who had co-written the autopsy report with Dr Khairul.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — A sharpening of racial language from Umno may put at risk Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's efforts to win back support from ethnic minorities and dampen his economic reform plans.

Najib's Umno, the country's main ruling party, has ramped up language designed to appeal to majority Malays who make up 55 per cent of the country's 27 million population.

The move comes after the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition made a surprisingly strong showing in a state by-election last month in a Malay seat and ahead of another state seat vote on Aug 25.

Senior Umno leaders have described the rainbow three-party opposition group led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which offers itself as a less racial alternative to the ruling coalition, as being traitors to the Malay race.

"If there are trouble makers who create controversy and racial issues, we regard them as traitors to our race who need to be fought to the end," Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday.

His views are echoed by the country's pro-government Malay-language newspapers, which have portrayed the opposition and Anwar as being anti-Malay.

"What the Chinese, Indians and PAS want right now is larger political and administrative powers. Not justice and democracy," read a column in the Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia on Aug 4.

Umno has led the government for 51 years and is engaged in a battle with the Islamist PAS for Malay votes and its interests sometimes run counter to the other 12 race-based parties that represent ethnic Chinese and Indians in the BN.

The coalition stumbled to its worst showing in national and state elections in Parliament in 2008 and Najib took office in April this year pledging a more inclusive approach to ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

He has liberalised financial services and ended some rules binding companies to 30 per cent Malay ownership, partly dismantling a 40 year old policy introduced by his father, Malaysia's second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

These measures, Najib argued, would create wealth by attracting foreign money and boosting domestic investment so the Malays would become richer and more competitive.

But at the same time, Najib has introduced populist measures like toll road price cuts and the Cabinet voted down electricity price rises that would have hit poorer, Malay voters.

His economic reforms haven't yet touched on the controversial system of handing out government contracts to what critics say are Umno cronies, the heart of Malaysia's patronage system which analysts say is an impediment to Malaysia's competitiveness.

"Umno has to follow through on the government's economic liberalisation policy but it still needs to keep its Malay base loyal," said Ibrahim Suffian, director the Merdeka Center, an independent pollster.

As well as creating a class of Malay millionaires, government contracts are the lifeblood for more than 30,000 contractors. Among the most influential among them is a group of 17,000 mostly Malay contractors under the lowest classification of "Class F".

Allowed to bid for jobs worth up to RM200,000, many Class F contractors are grassroots Umno officials whose support is widely sought after by party leaders.

Ibrahim said if the government were to adopt a greater pro-Malay emphasis, then "certain parts of the continuing economic liberalisation that would impact the Malays, such as the restructuring of government contracts, could turn out to be problematic".

The opposition gains in last year's elections were partly fuelled by anger over Umno's patronage system that many see benefitting mainly a small group of party-linked businessmen.

Malays as well as Chinese and Indians deserted the ruling coalition in record numbers to vote for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat.

In his efforts to boost appeal across races, Najib launched 1 Malaysia, a programme that promotes inclusion and "Malaysian" values.

Najib also freed Hindu activists and earlier this month visited Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, the site of the country's largest Hindu temple. It was the first official visit by a prime minister since 1970 when his father visited.

But in order to rouse the Malay vote, Umno needs to ensure that it is seen as defending its constituency.

If that strategy gains traction in the Aug 25 by-election, it will make it difficult to rebuild the BN's smaller parties ahead of elections that must be held by 2013.

One option for Umno may be to go for broke for the Malay vote in Peninsular Malaysia and rely on the states of Sabah and Sarawak to deliver a workable, albeit smaller, majority in parliament.

At the same time Umno can continue working to prise the Islamists out of Anwar's alliance.

The problems facing the BN are to some extent mirrored in Anwar's alliance and spats have broken out between the Islamists and mainly ethnic Chinese secularists, most recently over a ban on alcohol for Muslims in the opposition-run state of Selangor.

"Knowing perhaps that the non-Malay vote would be difficult to get back, by calling into question Pakatan's commitment to protect Malay interests, the government is using what I would see as a defensive strategy to stem the loss of the Malay vote," said political analyst Ong Kian Ming. — Reuters

Some of you have, in your comments, asked what precisely was the misconduct for which the UMNO candidate was struck of the rolls of the Malaysian Bar.

A commentator has drawn my attention to a report in The Edge which quotes Bar Council President Ragunath as saying that “the offence committed by Rohaizat involved stakeholders’ money from Koperasi Pekebun Getah and there was no account for it. When the board looked into this matter and the order was made, there was no reimbursement to the stakeholders involving the sum of RM140,000. Even if you pay, the offence has been committed and it is a serious offence as this involves dealing with client’s money. If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the disciplinary committee and the charge leveled under Section 103D is tantamount to criminal misconduct”.

There you have it.

BN’s candidate’s act of misconduct involved stakeholder funds, which is money held on trust, and that misconduct is tantamount to criminal conduct.

sms campaign to warn the voters of Permatang Pasir?

sms campaign to launch the rakyat’s effort to return the state constituency seat of Permatang Pasir to Pakatan Rakyat?

Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is right and to be commended for publicly acknowledging that DAPSY Chief and MP for Rasah Anthony Loke was the victim of a baseless attack that he had insulted Islam and the royalty as he had made a police report that he had nothing to do with the blog that was implicated.

He is however wrong when he implied that whether Tan Sri Musa Hussein’s contract as Inspector-General of Police is renewed, which has yet to be decided, was not as important as ensuring that the public accepted the police force – that this is not just dependent on the position of one man.

This is because whether public confidence in the efficiency, incorruptibility, professionalism of the Malaysian police to be of a world-class standard capable of performing its three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights will hinge on whether there is going to be a new Inspector-General Police to start the police on a new page together with a new Home Minister.In fact, on the question of whether there is going to be a new Inspector General of Police will hinge on public perception whether Hishammuddin as the new Home Minister is going to be part of the solution or part of the problem of endemic crime in Malaysia.

Hishammuddin cannot therefore be more wrong as whether Musa’s service as IGP is renewed or not will illustrate whether the top government leadership has ended denial syndrome and finally woken up to the seriousness of the endemic crime situation.

This question has been further underlined by the article today in Malaysian Insider by the Barisan Nasional MP for Pulai, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed entitled “The Royal Malaysian Police farce” who stated his loss of confidence in the police after his wife was mugged in broad daylight in her car at the front gate of their house at Damansara Heights in Kuala Lumpur by two men on a motor-cycle.

Nur Jazlan writes of public scepticism and distrust of police statistics and claims that reported crime in the country is down, and the feedback he gets from the public in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru that crime is on the rise in their neighbourhood.What is surprising is that Barisan Nasional leaders have yet to fully wake up to the endemic crime in the country until they become, personally or through members of their family, victims of galloping crime – which is becoming more and more frequent.

I am glad that Nur Jazlan has finally come around to the view that the time has come for a new IGP, as Musa has failed after being given three years to transform the police force and restore people’s confidence.

I am also glad that he is of the view that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should emulate his father, third Prime Minister Tun Razak “in catapulting a junior officer like Tun Haniff Omar to the top position of IGP to shake up the police force”. Haniff was 35 years old when he was appointed the nation’s top cop.

But the strongest and latest reason why there should be a new IGP is Musa’s total silence on the Home Ministry’s website poll last month with the following findings:

97% or 9,729 out of 10,060 respondents felt unsafe because of the high crime rate, with only 1% or 89 respondents felt safe and 2% or 242 respondents in the “uncertain” category.

95% or 8,883 out of 9,319 respondents felt that the safety of the people was not guaranteed as compared to 3% or 248 respondents who felt it was still guaranteed, with 2% or 188 respondents in the “uncertain” category.

94% or 8,743 out of 9,261 respondents felt that government had not done its best to ensure that the safety of the people was at the best level with 2% or 185 respondents felt that the government had done its best, and 4% or 333 persons “uncertain”?

The greatest national service Musa can perform is to take himself out of the consideration for renewal of his contract to allow for a new start to be made by a new IGP to revamp the entire police force to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police force capable of fulfilling the three core police functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights.

Will Musa respond to the call to national service to withdraw his name from any consideration for renewal of his contract as IGP when his term expires on 13th September?

SHAH ALAM, 17 Aug 2009: The theory that a homicide had occurred in the death of Teoh Beng Hock cannot be presented because of the failure on the part of the pathologist in questioning the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers, inquest proceedings was told today.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is holding a watching brief for Teoh's family, said the pathologist should have questioned the MACC officers to look into the possibility of homicide elements being involved in the death of the political aide to a Selangor executive councillor in July.

"I put it to you that because you (the pathologist) did not question the MACC officers, you thus did not obtain the material facts that resulted in your rejecting the possibility that a homicide had occurred," Gobind told Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim, the 10th witness.

The proceedings became more intense when Dr Khairul was questioned by Gobind repeatedly whether he could interrogate the MACC officers, and the pathologist addressed Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas: "I'm sorry, he's playing with words."

Gobind later asked: "You don't have evidence to support [the theory] a homicide had occurred because you did not question and did not conduct any investigation on the MACC officers?", to which Dr Khairul replied, "No comment."

The witness explained that although he did not interview the MACC officers, he did ask for details on the case from the investigating officer, and added: "In my opinion, it was sufficient to find out the story and get a picture of the situation from the investigating officer.

"I did ask the investigating officer, [and] I was told that the interrogation on the deceased was completed at about 3:30am, and he could be released, but he later slept on the sofa.

"I was also told that at about 5:00 to 5:30 am, the deceased was seen wandering in the [MACC] office," said Dr Khairul.

He was later asked whether he had handled cases involving a deceased who had been tortured while in police custody. The question was objected to by counsel Tan Hock Chuan, on behalf of the government, on grounds that the victim in this case was not arrested and detained by the police.

Dr Khairul was then asked on the content of the victim's stomach, and the witness explained: "There were no traces of food found in the stomach of the deceased."

He said it showed that the last time Teoh ate was about four hours before his death, and added: "I was told by the police that the deceased was given drinks between 5:00 and 5:30am."

Dr Khairul, however, admitted that he did not ask the MACC officers whether Teoh was well treated throughout the duration he was in the MACC office.

Teoh, 30, political aide to the chairperson of the Selangor Permanent Committee on New Villages and Illegal Factories Management, Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on 16 July on the roof of the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam here, after giving statements to the Selangor MACC as a witness in the investigation into allegations of misappropriation of Selangor state government funds. — Bernama

Between 5,000 and 10,000 Pakatan supporters rallied outside the nomination centre for the Permatang Pasir by-election. I was not able to gauge the size of the BN crowd as the two sets of supporters were kept apart. Quite a few of the supporters wore surgical masks because of their fear of H1N1.

This was the same nomination centre used for the Penanti by-election and this time the crowd appeared much larger than the few thousand that had turned up back then. Among the crowd were small contingents of DAP and PKR reps.

Nearer the nomination centre, Pakatan speakers addressed the crowd. The police presence was noticeably lighter. Penang CPO Ayub Yaakob had earlier spoken of a new approach in putting public order units only on stand-by following complaints that the police presence in previous by-elections had been overwhelming; just over a thousand personnel would reportedly be on duty this time. Apart from the usual plainclothes cops, I spotted the dark-blue uniformed units, mostly concentrated just outside the nomination centre, and their blue jeeps; no sign of any riot police.

But a disturbing incident marred the largely peaceful event. Padang Serai MP Gobalakrishnan was detained and handcuffed outside the nomination centre while he was leading the crowd with chants of “reformasi!” and looked as if he had injured his hand in the process. Ayub, for his part, was reported as saying police moved in after Gobala ignored two warnings to stop using allegedly provocative words.

As I strolled back with the dispersing crowd after the event under the blazing sun, a group of young Pas supporters around me, perhaps incensed by the way Gobala was arrested, shouted some unflattering remarks (which I shan’t repeat here) at the police lining the side of the road outside the nomination centre. But the cops just looked back passively.

A white Mitsubishi four-wheel drive belonging to the Election Commission cruised by, its occupants probably blissfully unaware that someone had cheekily draped a Pas flag on the spare tyre hanging at the rear of the vehicle. As the vehicle passed the dispersing crowd, Pas supporters chuckled at one another, “SPR sudah masuk Pas!”

Some of the Pas supporters had come from as far away as Terengganu and Pahang. I spotted one wearing a T-shirt from the Bukit Gantang by-election campaign in Perak.

As usual, the small traders lining both sides of the approach road to the nomination centre enjoyed brisk business.

0951: Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Tan Kok Ping has walked into the nomination centre premises along with Umno vice-president Zahid Hamidi. Kok Ping is now seated at the BN tent, engaging in conversation with Muhyiddin, as Koh Tsu Koon looks on. (Time to ask Tsu Koon some hard questions on Kg Buah Pala, eh?) (Kok Ping later moved to the Pakatan side.)

Earlier, a couple of stand fans were brought to the BN tent under which Muhyiddin and Hishamuddin are seated. It must be hot out there.

Samy Vellu has appeared and goes around greeting people.

Over on the Pakatan side, Anwar, Hadi and Guan Eng have turned up.

I wonder how many of them are thinking of Kg Buah Pala, which has dampened the occasion somewhat.